Vacuum clutch control



July 23,1935. Q r

FIG. 2'

& R.v s. SANFORD vacuum cmiTcH CONTROL Flled July 20, 1931 INVENTOR. For 5. -54/VFDRO ATTORNEY.

a 35 fashion, that is, in the clockwise direction. Such alternately in communication with themm-mld Patented .lnl zs, 193s 2,008,727

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE VACUUM CLUTCH CONTROL -Roy S. Sanford, South Bend, InlL, asalgnor to Bragg-Kliesrath Corporation, South Bend, Ind, a corporation of New York Application July 20, 1931, Serial No. 551,956

9 Claims. (Cl. lea-.01)

This invention relates in general to control of the control valve for the clutch operating mechanism for automotive vehicles and in parpower actuator. ticular to a power operated clutch mechanism In that embodiment of the invention disclosed rendered operable by and in conjunction with in Figure 1 there is provided a conventional 5 the throttle control mechanism of the vehicle. clutch pedal II for operation of a conventional 5 It has been proposed to operate the control clutch mechanism. not shown. A fluid motor valve of a clutch power actuator by the accelera- D actuator is adapted t0 control. the tor or throttle control mechanism. Such a structation of the clutch pedal to effect t a e ture is disclosed in the patent to Belcia, No. ment a d dise a em nt of the c utc p 1,470,272, dated October 9, 1923. This mode or Th a tuat p fera y mpris s a ylind r 10 operation, however, makes no provision for the Divotauy Secured at to fixed portion of the timing of the clutch engagement with respect to ehessis. the 0011118013118 d of the DiStOn U the relative R. P. M.'s of the. driving and driven being P y secured o the clutch D interclutch plates. It is, of course, desirable to eirect mediate its ends- The a or i adapted o be 15 the engagement of the clutch plates with a minenergized impart 8 dee lt mov m 0 16 imum of slipping and. grabbing, and h an the pedal by virtue of its connection, via. control gagement is had when the engine is speeded up Valve and conduits n and the intake so that th of t driving clutch plate manifold 26 of the internal combustion engine is equal t or substantially equal to that f the of the vehicle, which at closed throttle provides driven plate; accordingly, the principal object of a Pumping fiction of the engine Pistons inducing 20 the invention is to provide common means for a Vacuum in the mammld and likewise in'the conjoint operation of the throttle and clutch, actuator to thereby 1mm an atmospheric load which means permits of a control to insure non- 9 the l. and efiect the desired declutch" all and nonbb' cl engag mg Opera 1011- I n gg g x' gf utch ement at The control valve or the actuator is shown 25 In one desirable arrangement the butte of in detail in mm 3 and briefly comprises spring the throttle is so connected to the accele ator pressed atmospheric and vacuum.valve members pedal as to permit positive operation of the 2! and 3| controlling atmospherlc, vacuum and butt rfl to accelerate the engine with either outlet ports 32, 34 and 36, respectively, to render clockwise or counterclockwise rotation of the the valve operative for the purposes intended 30 pedal, and such a structure is so interconnected m particular gimme form? no part of with the control valve of the power actuator for present invention bemg q dethe clutch as to efiect. the clutch engagement scribed and claimed in the application of Victor w. Kliesrath, died October 10, 1931. only when the pedal is actuated m the normal The valve is operated to place the actuator 35 a structure permits of a speeding up of the endisengag 'z z z vehicle is in and :3 permit (tingl eil l s o a l iii i f fi the a, which is yieldably connected to a short link ving p equal that of the driven the latterbejng adjugtably connectedto link 40 platethe subsequent normal accel to a ment-eflectmgumd tch m move 12 supported by bracket 44. The link 42 serves continued throttle ,mmmi to interconnect the accelerator pedal 4 wi e openmg. 1 lost motion or two-direction throttle operating Other objects of the inventlon and desirable linkage desgflbedindetafl hereinafter.

details of construction and combinations of parts osed' 4o Intheoflpositionotthepartsasdlscl m4o w1ll become apparent from the followlng detailed full lines i Figure 1, the accelerator pedal is in description of a preferred embodiment of the t t l o ition, the throttle being closed to invention taken m coniunctlon with the accomt engine idling position and the atmospheric and D y h i In i vacuum valve members closed and opened re- 50 Figure 1 is a tic view of the clutch spectively by compreued springs 45 and 41, Figallithrottlecontrolmechanism constitutinsmy ure3,to placetheactuatorincircuit wlththe vention, manitoldtoevacuatetbeactuatorandmain- Figure2isanenlargedvlewotthetwo-directaintheelutchplates tron throttle control and The invention is particularly concerned,- how Figure 3 discloses an enlarged sectional view ever,withmeansfortheactuationotthethrot- 56 tie with either counterclockwise or clockwise movement of the accelerator pedal without, however, effecting an operation of the valve to efiect clutch engagement during counterclockwise pedal movement.

Accordingly, with this end in view there is suggested the two-directional control mechanism disclosed in detail in Figure 2 comprising links 48 and 50 pivotally connected at 52 and 54 to a bar 56, the latter pivotally connected intermediate its ends to the accelerator operated link 42. The links 48 and 50 are preferably adjustably and pivotally connected at 51 and 58 to relatively movable lever members 60 and 62, respectively, each of said members being adapted, by virtue of curved arm portions 64 and 66, to rotate the butterfly valve member 68 counterclockwise to open the throttle. The lever members together with the butterfly valve member are rotatably mounted on a common shaft 15. In the closed throttle position of the aforementioned parts tcnsioned springs '52 and I4 urge the lever members against stops it and 1B, and a coiled spring, not shown, returns the butterfly valve member to its closed or idling engine position. The springs I2 and M also'serve to maintain the accelerator pedal in its neutral position when the operator's foot is removed from the pedal and likewise serve to tension spring an to compress springs 45 and 41-to maintain the valve open to vacuum.

In-operation, clockwise actuation of the accelerator pedal in the conventional manner serves to open the throttle by placing the link 42 in compression, the bar 56 being rotated counterclockwise fulcruming at 52 by virtue of the contact of member 60- against stop 16. The link 50 is thus placed in compression, rocking the connected lever member 62 counterclockwise and opening the butterfly valve to'admit additional volatilized fuel and accelerate the engine. Such a conventional movement of the accelerator pedal i also automatically efiects a clutch engagement by permitting the valve to vent the actuator. With release of the accelerator to close the throttle the clutch is automatically disengaged as previously described. A free wheeling" operation of the vehicle is thus provided, the clutch being automatically disengaged with each closing of the throttle.

of the foot to thereby rotate the pedal counterclockwise and place the link 42 in tension.

The bar 55 will then fulcrum at 54, the lever member 62 abutting stop 18, and the rotating bar will actuate link 48 and member 65 counterclockwise to again open the butterfly.

However, the placing of link 42 in tension merely further tensions spring ll and further compresses valve springs 45 and 41, the valve continuing to maintain the actuator in circuit with the manifold to keep the clutch disengaged. The heel operation of the pedal thus provides a means ior speeding up the entine without engaging the clutch, and when the operator estimates the engine speed to be sufliciently high to correspond with the vehicle speed he then quickly reverses the operation of the pedal, depressing the same with the toe. This permits the clutch to engage in the manner described and also permits of a continued opening of the throttle to maintain or increase the vehicle speed.

The momentary release of the pedal to return to its dead center or neutral position and the subsequent toe operation to again open the throttle and vent the valve cause a certain loss of time in the control of the vehicle and a slight slowing down of the engine; however, the inertia of the moving engine parts tends to reduce the effect of this momentary throttle closing to a minimum and with practice the operator becomes skilled in this particular operation.

As previously stated, this control is particularly advantageous with the vehicle free wheeling at high speeds; however, it will be apparent that this mode of control may also be employed at any time during the operation of the vehicle while the same is in motion; accordingly, the clutch engagement may be controlled during the low to intermediate and intermediate to high gear shifting operations. The described mechanism is also advantageous in cold weather for the motor may be speeded up to warm the engine without, however, unnecessarily operating the clutch.

While one illustrative embodiment has been described, it is not my intention to limit the scope oi the invention to that particular embodiment, or otherwise than by the terms of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In an automotive vehicle having an engine controlling throttle and a clutch mechanism, means for operating said clutch mechanism and means operable in either of two directions from a neutral position for opening said throttle, both of said means being interconnected in such a manner as to eifect a clutch engaging operation of said clutch operating means with one direction of movement of said throttle controlling means beyond said neutral position and have no efiect upon said clutch operating means in the other direction of movement of said throttle controlling means beyond said neutral position.

. 2. In an automotive vehicle having an engine controlling throttle and a clutch mechanism, vacuum operated power means for operating said clutch mechanism, an accelerator control means operable in either of two directions for actuating said throttle, both of said means being interconnected in such fashion as to permit operation of said clutch operating means in one direction of movement of said throttle controlling means but having no eflect upon said clutch operating means in the reverse direction of movement ofv said throttle controlling means.

3. In an automotive vehicle provided with a clutch, a throttle and a throttle controlling accelerator pedal, power means for operating said clutch. and means interconnecting said pedal, power means and throttle, said interconnecting means being constructed and arranged to open the throttle and automatically engage the clutch with one direction of. movement of said pedal and to open the throttle without engaging he cluch with a difl'erent direction of movement of said pedal.

, 4. In an automotive vehicle provided with a throttle and an accelerator pedal, linkage interconnecting said throttle and pedal. said linkage including alternately movable links for actuating the butterfly 'valve member of said throttle, said links and butterfly being interconnected to efl'ect an opening of said butterfly by means of oppositely disposed lever members acting upon said butterfly member.

5. In an automotive vehicle having a throttle and an accelerator pedal, linkage interconnecting said throttle and pedal, said linkage including two three-arm lever members, each having one arm in disconnected engagement with the butterfly valve member of said throttle, a link connected to one of the remaining arms of each lever, 'the third arms of said levers being rotatably mounted on a shaft forming a common mounting for said levers and butterfly valvemember, a bar member pivotally connected to said links, a link interconnecting said pedal and bar, stop members adapted to contact said levers in their off position and yieldable means urging said lever members into contact with said stops.

6. In an automotive vehicle provided with a throttle and an accelerator pedal, linkage interconnecting said throttle and pedal, said linkageincluding alternately movable links operable by said pedal for actuating the butterfly valve member of said throttle, said links being bodily movable in opposite directions.

7. In an automotive vehicle provided with a throttle comprising a butterfly valve member,

said vehicle being further provided with a manually operable member for efiecting the operation of said butterfly valve member, linkage interconnecting said manually operable member and said butterfly valve member, said linkage including a lever member, and means connected with each end of said lever member for operating said butterfly valve member in one direction oi movement whereby with operation of said manually operable member in either of two directions of movement the fulcrum of said lever is shifted to effect the unidirectional movement of the butterfly valve member.

8. In anautomotive vehicle having an engine controlling throttle and a' clutch mechanism, vacuum operated power means for operating said clutch mechanism, a three-way control valve for said power means, an accelerator controlling means operable in either of two directions for actuating said throttle, means interconnecting said accelerator controlling means and said valve, the aforementioned connections being so related as to permit operation of said valve means to operate the clutch, in one direction of movement of said throttle controlling means, but having no effect upon said valve means in the reverse direction of movement of said throttle controlling means, said connection between the accelerator controlling means and said valve including a spring to insure the aforementioned operation.

9. In an automotive vehicle provided with a clutch, an engine throttle, power means for operating the clutch, a control valve for said power means, a manually operable control means, means interconnecting said manually operable means, control valve and throttle, and comprising means for eflecting a conjoint operation of the throttle and valve and further comprising 1 DISCLAIMER 2,008,727.Roy S. Sanford, South Bend, Ind.- VACUUM CLUTCH CONTROL. Patent dated July 28, 1935. Disclaimer filed April 3, 1937, by the assignee, Bragg- Kliesmth Corporation. Hereby enters this disclaimer to claim 9 in said specification.

[Ofiicz'al Gazette April 27, 1987.] 

